0:00:00 > 0:00:00- Subtitles
0:00:00 > 0:00:02- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:00:07 > 0:00:09- My name's Mali Harries.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13- I'm following the footsteps - of detectives past and present...
0:00:14 > 0:00:17- ..who've worked - on Wales' most sinister cases.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24- Tonight I explore - two unusual cases...
0:00:24 > 0:00:28- ..where instinct was crucial - in catching the perpetrators.
0:00:28 > 0:00:33- One was a minister who desecrated - bodies of the deceased in the '80s.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39- And the other, a butcher - who slaughtered a woman's body...
0:00:40 > 0:00:43- ..after meeting her - in a Pontypridd pub.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15- In 1984, - a very unusual criminal case...
0:01:15 > 0:01:18- ..was brought before - Chester Crown Court...
0:01:19 > 0:01:22- ..after a North Wales detective - uncovered a crime...
0:01:22 > 0:01:25- ..that shocked the entire nation.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39- Threatening letters - were sent anonymously...
0:01:39 > 0:01:41- ..to people across North Wales.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46- One letter was addressed to North - Wales' chief constable at the time.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02- This is the threat that was - in one of the anonymous letters.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05- "Someone - will settle the score with you...
0:02:05 > 0:02:09- "..even if that means - seizing your children.
0:02:09 > 0:02:14- "We'll get revenge and we'll get - you and your children, believe me."
0:02:18 > 0:02:21- There was a Towyn postmark - on all the letters...
0:02:22 > 0:02:25- ..as well as other clues - in the handwriting.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29- The handwriting was very similar...
0:02:29 > 0:02:31- ..to the handwriting of those...
0:02:32 > 0:02:36- ..born in the 1920s and 1930s.
0:02:37 > 0:02:42- The handwritten letter T - was very different...
0:02:43 > 0:02:45- ..from anything I'd seen before.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47- I concentrated on that.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54- After studying - 6,000 pieces of handwriting...
0:02:54 > 0:02:57- ..Gwyn Roberts went to Towyn - to visit one of the people...
0:02:57 > 0:03:00- ..mentioned in one of the letters.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04- Initially, he denied - recognizing the handwriting.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07- From the look in his eyes...
0:03:08 > 0:03:10- ..I suspected that he knew.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14- I went from his house - to the police station.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16- I was there for about 10 minutes...
0:03:17 > 0:03:20- ..when there was - a knock at the window.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23- I was shown a copy - of the New Testament.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26- When I opened the New Testament...
0:03:26 > 0:03:30- ..the handwriting inside - was exactly the same...
0:03:30 > 0:03:33- ..as that in the anonymous letters.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37- At the bottom...
0:03:38 > 0:03:41- ..it had been signed by Emyr Owen.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43- The Reverend Emyr Owen.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52- Emyr Owen was a Methodist minister - at the Presbyterian chapel in Towyn.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59- Having been ordained in 1952...
0:03:59 > 0:04:03- ..he spent some of his ministry - in Coventry and Liverpool.
0:04:05 > 0:04:10- In 1976 - he moved to Bethel Chapel in Towyn.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15- In December 1984...
0:04:15 > 0:04:17- ..Gwyn Roberts visited Emyr Owen...
0:04:18 > 0:04:21- ..to question him - about the threatening letters.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26- The house where Emyr Owen lived - is here on the right.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29- When he walked into - the living room...
0:04:29 > 0:04:33- ..he found clear evidence - on the table in front of him.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39- There were dozens of Christmas cards - on the table...
0:04:40 > 0:04:43- ..and all the envelopes - had addresses on them.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47- The handwritten letter T - was the same.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52- Emyr Owen initially denied - writing the letters...
0:04:52 > 0:04:54- ..before confessing the truth.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57- His knees were knocking.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00- He was looking down at his feet.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04- He said, - "I don't know what came over me."
0:05:04 > 0:05:08- But the detective suspected - there was more to his story.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12- I had a strange feeling about him.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16- You could call it a sixth sense. - I knew something was wrong.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23- With the minister still present...
0:05:23 > 0:05:27- ..he searched the house and study - for more evidence.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30- He found adult magazines...
0:05:30 > 0:05:33- ..and pornographic books on a shelf.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39- I asked him - if he'd done anything else.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41- He said, "No."
0:05:41 > 0:05:45- I started to - take these books off the shelf.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49- Behind them - were photographic slides.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56- What I saw...
0:05:56 > 0:06:00- ..was a man's sexual organ - on a plate.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06- Emyr Owen claimed they were - post-mortem photographs...
0:06:06 > 0:06:09- ..before making - the shocking confession...
0:06:09 > 0:06:13- ..that he'd severed the sexual - organs from the bodies of men...
0:06:13 > 0:06:15- ..who lived in his community.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18- The details were hard to comprehend.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23- Owen removed their sexual organs - in the chapel before their burial.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27- He injected them with boiling water - and placed them on a plate.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31- He then took photographs - and recorded his own commentary.
0:06:49 > 0:06:54- Detectives found a tape of his - recordings in a box at his house.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58- They also found cord, - a knife and a syringe inside.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05- I didn't - expect to find such things...
0:07:05 > 0:07:09- ..at the home - of a minister of the cloth.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18- The Reverend Emyr Owen stood trial - at Chester Crown Court...
0:07:19 > 0:07:22- ..accused of desecrating - three bodies in his care.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28- In the trial, Emyr Owen confessed...
0:07:29 > 0:07:31- ..there were two sides - to his personality.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34- The good Emyr, who was revered...
0:07:34 > 0:07:37- ..and the bad Emyr, - over whom he had no control.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50- He told me - he was glad he'd been caught.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55- He told me the bad Emyr had gone...
0:07:56 > 0:07:58- ..and no-one - would hear from him again.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06- Emyr Owen was sentenced - to two and a half years in prison...
0:08:07 > 0:08:09- ..for desecrating - the bodies of the deceased...
0:08:10 > 0:08:13- ..and 18 months - for sending threatening letters.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16- Though the truth about him - was made public...
0:08:17 > 0:08:21- ..some members of the Presbyterian - community still defended him.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27- While some defended him, - other families wanted to know...
0:08:28 > 0:08:31- ..which bodies had been in his care.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34- Upon his release from prison...
0:08:35 > 0:08:38- ..Emyr Owen - went to live in Llandudno.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42- He agreed to a television - interview about his crimes.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51- One of the questions - I had to ask Emyr was why?
0:08:51 > 0:08:54- It was as simple as that - and as complicated as that.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57- Put very simply...
0:08:57 > 0:09:00- ..this was his justification.
0:09:00 > 0:09:07- It's better for a man to meet his - maker without this particular organ.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15- This is what caused marriages - to fail and what led to infidelity.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17- I truly believed that.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21- I battled against the idea - but I believed in it.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26- The only way to make that clear...
0:09:26 > 0:09:29- ..was to get my revenge...
0:09:29 > 0:09:31- ..on the sexual organs.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36- Why on earth did you - record running commentary on tape?
0:09:36 > 0:09:40- Why did you take a photograph - of yourself with the bodies?
0:09:40 > 0:09:45- Isn't that the actions of a man - who derives sexual gratification...
0:09:45 > 0:09:47- ..from such butchering?
0:09:47 > 0:09:50- I didn't take photographs - of myself with the bodies.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54- There are none of me with a body.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57- All the photographs - are of sexual organs.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01- I'd watch them at home - on the screen.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05- Believe it or not, I'd curse them.
0:10:07 > 0:10:12- Some years later, another anonymous - letter in the same handwriting...
0:10:13 > 0:10:15- ..was sent to a woman in Colwyn Bay.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18- She wasn't the only one - to receive threats.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23- Emyr Owen claimed...
0:10:23 > 0:10:26- ..that the bad Emyr - had gone for good...
0:10:27 > 0:10:31- ..leaving only the good Emyr behind.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33- That wasn't true.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37- In my case, - after the programme was broadcast...
0:10:38 > 0:10:40- ..he started phoning my house...
0:10:41 > 0:10:43- ..and making threats.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46- Our daughter - was 12 or 13 years old at the time.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49- It wasn't very nice.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57- The Reverend Emyr Owen died in 1991.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02- He confessed to throwing - one of the organs into the sea...
0:11:03 > 0:11:06- ..and feeding another - to a seagull on Towyn beach.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11- Some suspect we haven't heard the - full extent of Emyr Owen's actions.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18- Looking back over the years...
0:11:18 > 0:11:21- ..I'm incredibly glad - we caught him...
0:11:21 > 0:11:23- ..before he did something worse.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30- We'll never know - the true extent of his crimes.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32- He took those secrets to the grave.
0:11:39 > 0:11:45- Instinct and perseverance uncovered - Emyr Owen's unexpected crimes.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48- Decades later, - for detectives in South Wales...
0:11:49 > 0:11:52- ..shock and horror - was on the horizon.
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0:11:58 > 0:11:58- Subtitles
0:11:58 > 0:12:00- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:12:02 > 0:12:05- The University of South Wales - in Pontypridd.
0:12:06 > 0:12:11- Here at Crime Scene House, - forensics students learn...
0:12:11 > 0:12:14- ..how to gather evidence - following a crime.
0:12:15 > 0:12:16- Hi, Mark. I'm Mali Harries.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18- Hi, Mark. I'm Mali Harries.- - Would you like to put these on?
0:12:18 > 0:12:22- Could you explain - the importance of these blues?
0:12:22 > 0:12:27- It protects the scene from you, - makes sure you don't leave evidence.
0:12:27 > 0:12:28- Shall we go in?
0:12:28 > 0:12:30- Shall we go in?- - Yes, OK. Follow me.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34- In each room is a mock crime scene.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39- I've come to see - how they investigate blood patterns.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43- For me in this room, - the main piece of blood evidence...
0:12:43 > 0:12:45- ..is on the wall.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50- That looks like it could be - from the victim, more than likely.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52- You've got fine spotting there.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55- What could be of more interest - is blood...
0:12:56 > 0:12:59- ..that might have been - from the suspect.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02- We've got blood spots here - and a blood spot there...
0:13:03 > 0:13:06- ..that's - slightly away from the body.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10- These being circular will have - fallen directly from above.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14- It could be from something they were - holding that was bloodstained...
0:13:14 > 0:13:17- ..or from an injury - on the suspect.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20- Next door in the laboratory...
0:13:21 > 0:13:24- ..they analyse - blood patterns thoroughly.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28- For example, - if I have this completely flat...
0:13:28 > 0:13:30- ..like so...
0:13:30 > 0:13:32- ..and drip some blood on it...
0:13:37 > 0:13:41- ..you can see that - they're pretty much spherical.
0:13:41 > 0:13:46- That would indicate that the blood - has dripped straight from above...
0:13:46 > 0:13:49- ..similar to - what we had in the scene.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53- If I change the angle - and do it again...
0:13:59 > 0:14:02- ..you can see that the blood - that forms this time...
0:14:02 > 0:14:05- ..is a slightly different shape.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09- What we can do is measure the width - and length of those blood spots...
0:14:09 > 0:14:14- ..and use a formula - to determine the angle...
0:14:14 > 0:14:17- ..that the blood - has hit that surface at.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20- You could use something like this...
0:14:20 > 0:14:23- ..to help interpret - the unknowns at the scene.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33- They use scientific formulae to - learn more about the crime scene...
0:14:33 > 0:14:35- ..to interpret what happened.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44- So, what would that tell you?
0:14:44 > 0:14:47- That could indicate - what it looks like cast off.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50- That might be - from a weapon that's been swung.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55- Every backswing could potentially - produce a line like that.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58- Here, you can see - three defined lines...
0:14:58 > 0:15:02- ..so that would suggest - three instances.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05- If you've got loads of lines...
0:15:05 > 0:15:10- ..that could be the difference - between a murder and manslaughter...
0:15:10 > 0:15:13- ..because it's obviously - more determined.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22- In 2015, some half a mile - from the university...
0:15:23 > 0:15:26- ..a crime was committed - which shook the community.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31- Tracey Woodford - from the Rhydyfelin area...
0:15:31 > 0:15:33- ..disappeared in April.
0:15:36 > 0:15:41- Her family contacted police about - the 47-year-old's disappearance.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47- We knew - she'd left her house that morning...
0:15:47 > 0:15:50- ..to do some shopping - in Pontypridd...
0:15:50 > 0:15:54- ..and we knew - she'd visited a few pubs...
0:15:54 > 0:15:58- ..before turning up - at the Skinny Dog pub.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02- It was there - that she met a group of people.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04- We know she was there for a while.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11- Police carried out inquiries - and visited the Skinny Dog...
0:16:11 > 0:16:13- ..to learn more about her movements.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16- She was seen there with a local man.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18- A man named Christopher May.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27- Some time before 11.30pm, she - left the pub with Christopher May.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31- We know from CCTV footage - that she's wearing his coat.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35- The CCTV - shows the pair crossing the road...
0:16:35 > 0:16:40- ..and walking in the direction - of May's home in the Graig area.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43- That's the last piece - of CCTV footage we have...
0:16:44 > 0:16:48- ..of Tracey Woodford alive - and of her with Christopher May.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53- Two officers - went to May's flat to question him.
0:16:53 > 0:16:58- He said he'd left - Tracey Woodford that night...
0:16:58 > 0:17:02- ..near the town's railway bridge - before walking home alone.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05- But the police doubted his story.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08- They suspected - something was wrong at his home.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14- When they arrived, - they were let into the flat...
0:17:14 > 0:17:17- ..and as Christopher May - let them in...
0:17:17 > 0:17:21- ..they were - greeted by a very pungent smell.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23- It smelt like rotting meat.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31- Christopher May...
0:17:31 > 0:17:34- ..allowed the police to look around.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38- They came to the bathroom...
0:17:38 > 0:17:43- ..and pulled back - the shower curtain.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47- As they pulled back the curtain...
0:17:48 > 0:17:51- ..they found - dismembered legs and arms.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04- Following forensic tests...
0:18:04 > 0:18:08- ..it was confirmed that they were - the limbs of Tracey Woodford.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11- Christopher May changed his story.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15- He confessed that she'd - gone back to his flat that night.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20- He denied murdering her...
0:18:20 > 0:18:24- ..but admitted - dismembering her body.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30- Christopher May - was a 50-year-old local man.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33- He was an unemployed father of two.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36- He'd previously worked - as a butcher in the town.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42- He had very good - chopping and sawing skills.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47- After searching the flat...
0:18:47 > 0:18:50- ..police found - other parts of her body.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55- Parts of her ribs in one bag - and her fingers in her handbag.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00- May had tried - to flush some body parts away...
0:19:00 > 0:19:02- ..but other parts were missing.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08- Christopher May confessed - that he'd placed other body parts...
0:19:08 > 0:19:10- ..in the town's storm drain.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14- It emerged that he'd walked - along Pontypridd high street...
0:19:14 > 0:19:18- ..carrying Tracey Woodford's head - in a plastic bag.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26- Police searched the town - for the rest of her remains...
0:19:27 > 0:19:31- ..including - Sardis Road rugby ground.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39- The place was shut down.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42- Pontypridd town centre, - from the train station...
0:19:43 > 0:19:46- ..all the way to Sardis Road...
0:19:47 > 0:19:50- ..was completely closed off - by police.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52- A helicopter flew overhead.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55- It was clear that a major crime - had been committed.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02- It took considerable effort - to find Tracey Woodford.
0:20:03 > 0:20:08- Christopher May told us that - he'd put the rest of her remains...
0:20:08 > 0:20:12- ..in a storm drain - somewhere in Pontypridd.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15- It was vital - to find all her remains...
0:20:15 > 0:20:18- ..for the sake of her family.
0:20:29 > 0:20:34- Police searched every drain - surrounding the rugby ground.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38- There must've been - more than 50 people...
0:20:38 > 0:20:41- ..searching the place thoroughly.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44- They focused on the drains. - This one's an example.
0:20:45 > 0:20:51- Police officers opened up the drains - and searched inside.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54- As you can see - from the blue paint...
0:20:54 > 0:20:58- ..they marked each drain - they searched.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01- They did that all over the ground.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07- Searching the river - was the next step.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17- This footage belongs to a specialist - team that entered the drain.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28- As they scoured - further up the river...
0:21:28 > 0:21:33- ..they found Tracey Woodford's - head on a ledge inside the drain...
0:21:33 > 0:21:37- ..and another body part - in the same chamber.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46- Christopher May - was arrested and charged...
0:21:46 > 0:21:48- ..with Tracey Woodford's murder.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51- He pleaded not guilty.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57- During the hearing...
0:21:57 > 0:22:01- ..May admitted that he was - responsible for Tracey's death...
0:22:01 > 0:22:04- ..but denied murdering her.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07- He claimed - to have killed her in self-defence.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17- However, at Cardiff Crown Court...
0:22:18 > 0:22:20- ..the jury took less than an hour...
0:22:20 > 0:22:24- ..to find Christopher May - guilty of murder.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31- The judge said that it was - a cruel and barbaric murder...
0:22:32 > 0:22:34- ..and that May - was a very dangerous man.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41- He was sentenced to life in prison - with a minimum term of 28 years.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45- May had shown no remorse - for his actions of murder...
0:22:46 > 0:22:48- ..mutilation and dismemberment.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53- We see devastation in our eyes and - know the hurt the other is feeling.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57- We know that we are helpless - to stop the pain.
0:23:02 > 0:23:07- For Tracey Woodford's family, the - gruesome details were heartbreaking.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12- Understanding Christopher May's - actions is almost impossible.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14- The horror of this case...
0:23:15 > 0:23:20- ..will remain with the detectives - who worked on this investigation.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29- Nothing can prepare you - for what the officers found...
0:23:29 > 0:23:31- ..behind the shower curtain.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34- It's something you deal with...
0:23:34 > 0:23:38- ..but some jobs - stay in your mind forever.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05- S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.
0:24:05 > 0:24:05- .